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30 PORTLAND OBSERVER Friday February 6 2015 OBSERVER SPORT www.spec.com.au EMAIL: dean.millard@observer.net.au spec.com.au Anderson joins the elite DEAN MILLARD WOOD chopping has been a family tradition for Mumbannar’s Gordon Anderson, so it was a fitting tribute when he joined his father Ted in the Australian Axeman’s Hall of Fame. Anderson was officially inducted at a ceremony in Tasmania on Australia Day, though unfortunately he was not able to attend, instead receiving his certificate in the mail some time afterwards. He said the phone call from the Australian Axeman’s Council to let him know he had been accepted was a very proud moment and an incredible honour. “It is a great honour, it really is,” Anderson said. “When I look back on my wood chopping career I have been very lucky. “Back in 1970 I got to go to the World Centenary of Woodchopping, I was part of the South Australian team. “I got to go again in 1974 to another series they held. “I was lucky to see a lot of the really famous axemen through that, blokes like old Jack O’Toole and Merv Youd, they were the best in the world and I was lucky enough to see them, talk to them and get to know them, and that was a real privilege and an honour in itself just to be part of that. “It was a huge wood chop, the biggest the world has ever had, and it was a real honour to be a part of that.” More than 10,000 spectators attended that event, with Anderson saying the atmosphere was amazing. Family affair Anderson was destined to have a life in woodchopping given his family’s involvement. “My Dad was chopping when I was only a little kid. “My mother’s brothers chopped. “I have a son who still chops, he is in his prime, and I am still chopping, so we have three generations there, which isn’t uncommon in wood chopping, some families have five generations that have chopped. “You grow up with it, it goes down from generation to generation, it is part of your life and your life revolves around it. “That is how the young fellas get an interest, they see Dad do it right from when they are little tackers and they pick up a lot of things, even as little kids they pick up a lot.” Anderson proved this point when at four years of age he was pictured in a newspaper making his start in the sport. “I have a photo taken by the Mount Gambier paper, I was four years old, and there is a photo of me on a log. “I was dressed up as a mascot for the local axeman’s association. “Hytest axes donated a little axe, I have uncles and relations in the background of that picture.” But when you’ve grown up around woodchoppers when you get handed an axe you don’t pose with it, you start chopping, and that is exactly what Anderson did. “My father was standing just out of the shot, ready to grab me by the scruff of the neck, just in case the log fell apart.” Anderson said one of his proudest moments in the sport was only a few years ago when both his father, himself and his son made it through to the same final in an event at Noorat. “My father was still chopping and my youngest son was in the same event, and the three of us got to the final of the Open Standing Block, and when they ran the final we cut first, second and third. “I can’t remember the order it was, but grandfather, father and son, that doesn’t happen every day. “It is a good thing with the sport, there are not many sports you can participate in with your son. “I chopped for years and did thousands of miles in the car with my Dad, and then for the three of to travel around together, to have three generations of us participating in the same arena in the same events has been pretty good.” Life of a backmarker While Anderson is quick to distance himself from who he describes as some of the greats of the sport, such as David Foster, O’Toole and Youd, his record indicates that in his prime he was far from a slouch, regularly chasing down opponents as a back marker across the majority of his career. His most memorable of these come from behind victories was brought up in Loxton when he charged back from a handicap of 100 seconds. “It is a good feeling when you are standing there and watching them and the count goes to 100 and they are well and truly into the first side, so to reel them in and just pip them is a good feeling. “You can look down the line and see the mistakes that people are making and then you know that you can catch them because they are making too many mistakes and they have taken too long to get onto the board. go through the event because they won’t be as fit as you, because you are the back marker and you know that you can round them up, so in your mind you draw a line through them and don’t even think about them. “You just focus on what you are doing. “You can see which man down the field is your danger if you don’t do everything right, but some of them you can mentally draw a line through them and not worry about them.” Anderson said being a back marker never worried him, saying it was all about concentrating on what you needed to do. “It’s not particularly tough to be a back marker, because at that stage you are in the prime of your life. “Of course it is a real challenge, but a lot of it is in your head, too. “You have to have your head right for it to be a back marker. “If the wood is really good it is hard to catch the front men, but you have to think positively and think you can do it because if you start doubting yourself you have beaten yourself already.” Another of Anderson’s great achievements is being the only axeman to win the John Wills Memorial chop more “They are only going to get worse as they MUMBANNAR axeman Gordon Anderson, 62, could not be prouder of being inducted into the Australian Axemen’s Hall of Fame on Australia Day this year. than once, having three titles to his name. Anderson said all axemen put extra incentive on memorial chops but for him the John Wills Memorial was even more special as he was with Wills when he died. “Years ago John was chopping on the foreshore of Portland, I was talking to him and he had just competed in an event and he said, gee I feel buggered, and the next thing he collapsed on the ground. “Other axemen rushed to him and they took him away in an ambulance, but unfortunately he didn’t make it. “Ever since then the family has put up prize money and then Keppel Prince took over the sponsorship for a memorial event. “It was originally held in Portland, but then it went to Heywood at the Wood, Wine and Roses. “John was a hell of a nice fella, you have a lot in common with a lot of axemen, a lot of them work in the bush, and John did, he worked in the bush and supplied logs to the local saw mills, and his truck and trailer is still getting around Heywood.” Injuries no concern Anderson said one of the misconceptions of the sport was it was all about being the strongest and fastest, but he said knowledge of wood and cutting techniques was much more important than speed alone. “I have seen a few bad cuts, I saw a fella fall out of a tree and break his legs, but at the same time over the years I have seen thousands of logs chopped, so injuries are few and far between. “There are not many sore backs in the sport, they are all fit and hard sort of fellas in it because it keeps you in good shape.” At the time of speaking to the Portland Observer Anderson himself was coming back from an injury, having had a hip replacement only a few months prior. He said his recovery from the surgery was going well and he still expected to compete at the Wood, Wine and Roses in Heywood later this month. “I have just had a hip replacement, and I haven’t cut a log for a couple of months, but I have training logs over in the yard and I am going to have another go at it. “My aim is to compete at the Wood, Wine and Roses. “I might pick what events I go in, because I am trying to “It takes a bit to learn, it is not as easy as you think. “It takes a lot of perseverance, you have to be dedicated and stay there and cut hundreds of logs and do it exactly as your Dad says. “You have to go slow and learn how to do it correctly because as with anything, speed is nothing, everyone has speed. “Everyone can run, but you have to learn to run correctly. “In the same way you can hit fast, but that doesn’t mean you are hitting correctly, you have to go slow and persevere. “You also must travel in this sport if you want to be any good. A FAMILY tradition ... Gordon’s father Hedley (Ted) Anderson (left) is also a member of the Hall of Fame, while Gordon’s son Daniel (right) is also an impressive axeman. Picture: ELLY HATELEY 150203eh10 “If you just want to stay in your own area you will never get any better than the best man in your area, so you have to travel, you have to go and compete against the real good axemen.” Learning the correct techniques is also a good way of preventing injuries, though Anderson said there were less in the sport than you might expect. “There are not many accidents in the sport, it is a very safe sport, one of the safest sports you can take up. be careful at this stage, but there is no reason if you stay fit that men can’t compete until they are 80 years old. “I know a bloke, Marty Canole, in far North Queensland, he is about 83 and he still cuts a beautiful log. “He is still the man in that association that goes to the bush and fells the trees and tows them out for them.” Anderson said he was actually hoping this would be Canole’s year to be inducted into the Hall of Fame rather than himself. “My son and a couple of others actually nominated Marty and we were hoping it would go through this year because a man like that has spent a full lifetime promoting the sport and training young fellas and going to the bush and getting logs and he is still doing it, at 83 years of age he is still doing it and a fella like him deserves the recognition for what he has been doing.” He said he had to thank his father, Ted, and former mentor, world champion Jim Alexander, for showing him the ropes, adding his son, Daniel, had also been lucky enough to be taught by Alexander. He said seeing the progression of the next generation of woodchoppers was still something that he enjoyed. “I have seen the sons of blokes I chopped with when I was younger grow up and become champion axemen. “That’s a good thing to see, to think back to the little chubby fella on a log going red in the face, but he wouldn’t give up and now look at him. “That is something that is good to see and good to be a part of.” Picture: ELLY HATELEY 150203eh08